A power supply cable (harness) is connected to an electric compressor of an air conditioner installed in a vehicle to provide power from a power source such as a battery and the like installed in a vehicle to an electric motor of the electric compressor. A connector, which is provided with positive and negative terminals used to connect to the power supply side, is provided at one end of this harness. As a constituent part at the electric compressor side, a harness is mounted to an electric compressor on a manufacturing line of the electric compressor, which is then transferred or transported to a vehicle assembly site to be installed in a vehicle. During transfer or transport of this electric compressor, dirt, dust, water droplets, etc. may become attached to the connector terminals of the harness, or damage thereto may occur from contact with other members. To prevent this, a connector terminal protection cap that protects the connector terminals is attached thereto, and transfer or transport is then carried out.
Examples of such connector terminal protection caps are disclosed in Patent Citations 1 and 2. These protection caps are attached to an electric cable end portion or a holder main body in order to prevent attachment of dirt, dust, water droplets, etc. to an end portion of an electric cable of a wire harness, a power supply core wire of a terminal block, etc., or to prevent bending, etc. of a core wire. The protection caps are formed of molded products of plastic materials, have a cap portion that covers an outer circumference of the electric cable end portion and the power supply core wire, and are attached to the electric cable end portion or the holder main body by fitting thereto by means of elastic deformation of the plastic material.
The original function of a connector terminal protection cap is to prevent attachment of dirt, dust, water droplets, etc. to connector terminals or damage to the connector terminals, during transfer or transport of an electric compressor. However, with the connector terminal protection caps applied to the above-described harness, in addition to such a protective function, other required functions are not to come off easily due to vibrations, contact with other members, etc. during transfer or transport, and to be easily removed at an assembly site for smooth installation work.
The protection caps disclosed in Patent Citations 1 and 2 described above are attached by fitting by means of elastic deformation of plastic material. Accordingly, if the fitting force is weak, these caps may come off during transfer and transport due to vibrations, contact with other members, etc. There is also a problem in that, if the fitting force is too strong, pulling the caps off requires strength, and their removal becomes difficult at the assembly site.
Patent Citation 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. Hei 8-124609.
Patent Citation 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-243999.